The Kassel Family Project Life 365

Andy turned 42 today and received a lot of birthday wishes from great family and friends!  He had already bought his own birthday present (all the expansion packs to Battlefield 3), but we still had a nice dinner and Laura made him a card at daycare.  She was so excited to give it to him.  When we got to daycare to pick up the kids, she ran to her cubby and gave Daddy her card immediately.  She really did a great job!  When we got home, the Lowerys stopped by with a card that Alia had made for Andy.  It’s quite cute!  After some good wine and dinner, we put the kids to bed and then sat down to watch “The Raven” together.  It was a quiet birthday, but very nice.  Just what Andy wanted.

John was very excited when Andy sat down with him this evening to make some Lego vehicles.  His favorite was a toss up between the helicopter and the motorcycle.  I think Santa has a great idea for John’s Christmas gifts now…

Today was the float trip down the Niangua River and what a great time it was!  Eight hours of enjoying the water and the craziness of literally hundreds of people floating.  We talked and laughed our way down the river with a great group of people.  We saw some complete silliness, and we even added some complete silliness of our own!  The Quote of the Day was, “What happens on the river, STAYS on the river.”  It’s a great quote that fit the day perfectly.  Andy and I had a blast and we will be going again next year!

**NOTE:  Sorry there are no pictures of the day.  I was not about to take my camera out on the river and chance getting it wet.  My warranty doesn’t cover that.  🙂  Besides…”What happens on the river, STAYS on the river.”

**NOTE #2:  If you intend to take your children floating and they are not college age, please do so on a weekday.  I don’t think that is an appropriate environment for young children.  See the Quote of the Day.

We headed off to the Niangua River Oasis (NRO) Canoe and Campground for some adult fun with a group of 19 other people.  Our friend, Tamara, invited us to go along on a great Missouri summer past time…a float trip.  We were excited to go as we haven’t been floating in about seven years.  We headed out Friday night about 6:00 for the two-hour drive to the campground.  After stopping for a quick dinner, we arrived about 8:45, unloaded the truck, got our camping gear in order, and popped the first of what was MANY adult beverages.  It was a great night of hanging out with great people.  We sat by the fire, drank a bit (okay, so we drank a lot), talked a lot, laughed even more, and just enjoyed the evening.  It was a great way to spend a summer night!

Grandma Marilyn arrived at our house tonight and the kids are very excited!  Andy and I leave tomorrow for a float trip with a group of adults and Grandma will stay with the kids this weekend.  It should be fun times!

Andy practicing his trumpet is a regular thing in our house these days.  He’s practicing to play at a church service at some point.  John loves to watch and listen while Andy plays.  I think we have a future trumpet player in the house.

Today, our great truck rolled over the 100,000 mile point.  Unfortunately, it is now out of warranty.  🙁  We also happen to still be making payments on it, but we only have approximately three payments left.  It’s a great truck and Andy and I love it, so we will not be replacing it anytime soon!  I’m sure that shocks you all given that we’ve had the Alero for ten years now…